Well-known hot dog seller says she's being evicted

Wendy Shuler’s bright red food cart has long gone hand-in-hand with home improvement, enticing hungry customers at Lowe’s with the aroma of all-American hot dogs.

Shuler was given her 30-day notice after calling the Gaston County Health Department last month to report that another vendor was selling food from the parking lot illegally. The second vendor was there as part of a parking lot promotion sponsored by Valspar Paint and Lowe’s.

Officials with Lowe’s aren’t talking about why she’s been cut loose. Neither is anyone from the third-party company that oversaw Shuler’s now-forfeited contract.

“I just don’t have any comment on the matter,” said Paul Spencer of Minneapolis-based Best Vendors Management.

Shuler feels what happened is clear.

“This was a safety violation the people at Lowe’s turned their eyes away from and did nothing about,” she said. “To me, them getting rid of me was very clear retaliation.”

Reporting a violation

Shuler has sold hot dogs outside numerous stores in Gastonia over the years, and she’s well known to locals. Since 2002, she said her contract with Best Vendors Management allowed her to be the sole food vendor at the local Lowe’s.

On March 20, she was manning her cart when she saw the Valspar Paint demo going on under a tent. She walked over and realized the vendor was violating several health department rules, including selling barbecue and hot dogs without a permit.

She reported it, and health inspectors showed up soon after.

“We try to jump on those things and catch them,” said Gaston County Environmental Health Director Curtis Hopper. “We just want to make sure people are legitimate.”

The push cart operator said he was hired by a Missouri catering company, according to a health department complaint investigation report by David Littman. He first stated he was “selling” the barbecue and hot dogs, which is illegal without a permit.

“After further questioning, he rescinded the ‘selling’ statement and said he was giving the food away,” Littman wrote in her report.

Littman noted a slew of other violations and told the vendor he would have to throw away the barbecue or take it home. He was allowed to give away the hot dogs.

In addition to looking out for her business, Shuler thought she’d been responsible by preventing someone from potentially getting sick from unregulated food.

“Because I’m educated in food service, I felt that was not only my right, but my duty,” she said.

No more dogs

But Shuler said the Lowe’s store manager fielded a complaint from Valspar Paint, then criticized her for calling health inspectors and making Lowe’s look bad.

A couple of weeks later, Shuler was notified in a certified letter that her contract to sell hot dogs at Lowe’s had been canceled. An official at Best Vendors told her Lowe’s had given them a directive, she said.

“He said, ‘I’m just acting on what Lowe’s told me to do, which is fire you,’” she said.

Steve Kirby, the district manager for the Gaston County Lowe’s stores, referred questions to the corporate office.

Lowe’s spokeswoman Karen Cobb said it wasn’t up to them.

“It’s really inappropriate for us to comment about this situation,” she said. “Food vendors that work at our stores are contracted through third-party contractors who are responsible for them.”

The hammer dropped on Shuler just as her busiest period of business was kicking in. She makes more money in April, May and June than during the rest of the year combined.

Shuler said she has one employee, and is a single mother with three children. She contemplated filing a lawsuit, but said she can’t afford to invest the time and money to do so.

At this point, she’s trying to find new places to do business.

“I’m just upset that they didn’t understand I was protecting them from liability involving their customers’ health,” said Shuler. “I find that irritating.”

You can reach Michael Barrett at 704-869-1826 or twitter.com/GazetteMike.